Give Good Ol'days Their Due

My Turn

June 30, 1989|By WILEY K. WILLIAMSON

As a senior citizen, some of my most statisfying moments are when I reflect on and relive in my mind the way things were during my favorite times, the roaring '20s and early '30s. Those were the times when money didn't seem so important, as most of us didn't have any anyway. We were poor but proud, and the only welfare program was people helping one another. It was a time when a day's work involved more than eight hours and we really sweated, but it was all right then to let 'em see you sweat. Still, we always had time for a good laugh and, with so many little Mayberry-type towns around, there was always something or someone to smile about.

Television was unheard of during those years. When it did become available, it soon became the primary source of our news and entertainment. For several years it worked well for the progress and good of our country. However, it seems that now the news is loaded with violence, sensationalism, political turmoil and crime. They now give us talk shows, soap operas and movies filled with vulgarity and suggestive sexual actions, and they call it entertainment.

Ours was a time when there were no suspended sentences given to convicted rapists, robbers and murderers. The punishment usually fit the crime, and the victim had more civil rights than the criminal.

We survived some very difficult times all right, but I believe it only helped us to be stronger and to appreciate the simple things of life more. I remember riding on real choo-choo trains and streetcars, old Maxwell and Model T Ford automobiles. However, walking was our primary mode of transportation.

We saw silent movies, vaudeville and minstrel shows. I bought penny candy and 5-cent Cokes. I remember stalks of bananas hanging in grocery stores, and I'd watch my mama as she sampled the cheese before she bought it. I lived several years B.R. (Before Radio), and it was a time when the only pollution we knew about was the nightly deposit our neighbor's dog left on our front lawn.

There was a time when there were always more buggies and horse-drawn wagons in our church parking lot than automobiles during services. Our church was heated in winter by a big potbellied stove and air-conditioned with little cardboard fans with wooden handles. They had the picture of Jesus on one side and a funeral home ad on the other. The happiest people on earth came out of those churches on Sundays. The preachers pulled no punches then; you either did right or you did wrong. There was no in-between. I also remember the old tent meetings. Sometimes the preacher would be an ex-convict who converted to Christianity while in prison. They would march from one end of the podium to the other with shirt sleeves rolled up, sweating profusely and shouting, "You're all going to burn in hell's eternal fire if you don't straighten up your lives." That was old-time religion at its best.

I remember the old traveling medicine shows too. They would open each night with an M.C. telling some off-color jokes, have some country music and have someone dance, then they'dsell boxes of popcorn or candy with prizes in them. Finally 1they'd sell bottles of a supposedly cure-all tonic. It would make its users feel better fast, but only temporarily because it was about 40 percent alcohol. By the time people got wise the show would have already moved on.

The only pot we knew about was something to wash clothes in or a vessel to cook in. The only Coke we knew about was a soft drink, and crack was the beginning of a new day and time to get out of bed. That was a time when it wasn't a matter of life or death to leave a door unlocked, and it was safe to walk the streets at night. It was a time when the American flag was one of the most respected pieces of cloth in the world.

I know today's youngsters are exposed to far more temptation than my generation was. I also realize we have many fine and dedicated young people, and I thank God for them. I admire those who keep their minds and bodies clean, because they're our leaders of tomorrow and our hope for the future. Their distractions are many, but their opportunities are unlimited. I sincerely hope they will always remember that good values are never outdated.